Living Rawesome

Welcome to my blog about my LOVE for God's Raw Living food. Please join me on my journey towards health and wellness. I truly believe that pure natural raw living food is the doorway to a healthy body, mind, and spirit.
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Beary Berrilicious Sundae

I am back….

I haven’t blogged in over a year, but have literally thought about it every day. When I found out Heathy from sweetlyraw.com was doing another contest, I thought I should break the ice and begin blogging again and enter the Vegan Ice Cream Sundae Challenge.

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Since I haven’t blogged in so long, I wanted to make it a special one and in honor of my mother, I did the ice cream sundae theme about bears because she loves Teddy Bears. My mother has been very ill for the last year. She has been in and out of the hospital with atrial fibrillation, blocked kidney, and neck surgery. I will not draw out the details, but I want my mother to know that she is deeply loved “Beary” much by me and so many others.

To make the “Beary” Berrilicious Sundae there are several steps to take. I started with the Graham Cracker Bears. They remind me of Teddy Grahams but so much healthier and pure.

Graham Cracker Bears

Ingredients
1 cup cashew flour (about 1/2 heaping cup whole cashews)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup maple flavor agave
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

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Kitchen tools you will need
Food Processor
1 small bear cookie cutter
Rolling pin
Teflex Sheets or Parchment Paper
Dehydrator or Freezer

Directions

Place cashews into food processor, and make into flour by pulsing.
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Pour into a bowl, and add coconut flour, salt and cinnamon, then mix until blended.
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Stir in the agave and vanilla. Blend all ingredients into ball. If the ball is too wet to pick up with your hands add some coconut flour until it becomes a pie/pizza crust consistency.
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Place on either a Teflex Sheet or Parchment Paper, and use another sheet or paper to cover the dough ball. Flatten the dough ball and roll out to about a 1/4 inch thickness.
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After pulling top sheet off you can then use the small bear cookie cutter to make the Graham Cracker Bears. When the bears are formed you can place them on a Teflex sheet for the dehydrator or a cookie sheet pan with Parchment Paper for the freezer.
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Dehydrate the bears on 115 degrees for 6-8 hours or freeze the bears. I dehydrated the bears and they were crispy after 6 hours, but once they sat out for a short time they softened. I placed them in the freezer in order to keep them crispy.

After making the bears I started on ice cream base. I used a Vanilla Ice Cream Base for the flavors for the “Beary” Berrilicious Sundae.

Vanilla Ice Cream Base

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 cup almond milk (1/4 cup soaked almonds with one cup water)
1/3 cup softened coconut oil
1 t vanilla
pinch of sea salt

Directions
Place all ingredients in high powered blender then pour mixture into ice cream maker. Make according to directions. When the ice cream is finished, divide the mixture into 3 bowls. This base is used for the Straw”Beary” Ice Cream and the Mixed “Beary” Ice Cream.

Straw”Beary” Ice Cream

Ingredients
Vanilla Ice Cream Base
3 T thawed strawberries from frozen organic strawberries
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Directions
Mix strawberries and ice cream base together until the ice cream is pink and still has chunks of strawberries.
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Mixed “Beary” Ice Cream

Ingredients
Vanilla Ice Cream Base
2 T thawed mixed berries from frozen organic blackberries, blueberries and strawberries
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Directions
Mix until the color of the ice cream turns bluish purple and berry chunks remain.
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The third bowl will remain the plain Vanilla Ice Cream.

Now, introducing the “Beary” Berrilicious Sundae….

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There was enough ice cream to make 2 sundaes. The sundaes are enough for 2-3 people per sundae. Cashew Vegan Ice Cream is always very filling to me because of the dense nutrient filled ingredients.
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So when you eat your “Beary” Berrilicious Sundae share it with someone you love and tell them how “BEARY” special they are to you. I LOVE YOU MAMA!!

~~I wanted to give a special thank you to Heathy for inspiring me to blog again and inspiring me to place my energy into making yummies in my kitchen again. I missed it!~~

Posted 12 years, 3 months ago at 8:23 pm.

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Summer Party Parfait Contest LIFESAVERS PARFAIT

July 24, 2010

How many of you remember eating candy as a child? I do, just like it was yesterday. I was offered candy numerous times throughout my days as a child. We had candy jars, candy drawers, and we often had the choice to get candy at the store. Of course, our parents told us we couldn’t eat too much and definitely not before dinner. One type of candy in particular rings close to my heart. This candy has come a long way since I was a child in the 80’s. I vividly remember opening up the roll of candies to find the silver shimmering cover, and tearing off the outer layer only to find it lined with some type of wax plastic paper. My mom always said that this was to protect the candy in case it melted. If it were to get stuck to the silver, well, it would be like chewing on aluminum foil. Icky, I didn’t want to chew on aluminum foil, so I was always careful not to rip the waxy paper below the silver, just in case the little candies became wet and gooey. I didn’t want to throw my candies out, so I always hoped that the waxy paper was still intact. Once I began opening them I could only hope that the first candy in line was one of my favorite flavors. I knew I had to share my candy so I hoped that I wouldn’t be stuck with a candy that I didn’t like. We had a rule that the first candy shown in the lineup was for the “opener” of the packet. Most times I got lucky, but then sometimes not.  I would often try to trade one to my brother, sister or friends especially it is was green but I was always turned down. These candies I am talking about are one of the most famous hard candies. Yes, I am talking about LIFESAVERS!
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When I decided that I was going to do the Raw Summer Party Parfait Contest by Heather Pace, I didn’t know what to make, but I knew that I needed to do it.  My Matthew Kenney Project (like Julie and Julia) is ending and I feel like this is something that I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t spent the last year of my life making a recipe every single day from Matthew Kenney’s book Everyday Raw and Entertaining in the Raw.  It has given me the motivation to do it, so here I go.

About 3 years ago, I went “RAW”.  I never knew that such a lifestyle that existed, but I am so grateful that I found this way of life.  One thing for certain is Raw Desserts have been my vice, my sanity at times, my way out of such a strict eating regimen.  In the beginning I felt like eating raw food left me with limited choices, after all there is so much to learn in the beginning.  But then, I found out that I could make something sweet and gooey, not “eat ONLY lettuce everyday” and still reach for better health.   With this in mind and using Heather Pace’s Recipes from her book Raw Party Parfait E-Book, I designed a parfait that encompassed the rules of the contest and had the flavors of all my favorite candies as a child.

Raw Desserts, in a sense, were and still are my LIFESAVER.  They could be your LIFESAVER too!

1935 was the year that the original flavors of LIFESAVERS came out.  These flavors were Cherry, Lemon, Lime, Orange and Pineapple.  These flavors remained the same until the year 2003 when Kraft decided to change the flavors of the original LIFESAVERS to Cherry, Pineapple, Raspberry, Orange and Watermelon.  For a while they used Blackberry flavor instead of Orange, but changed it back to the original.  Funny how my favorite flavors were the flavors they kept.  Cherry, Orange and Pineapple.  I thought I would be nostalgic and use the Original 5 Flavors of LIFESAVERS to create my Summer Party Parfait.
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This recipe is 6 steps so I will break each step down in order.  First I made the LIFESAVER pudding/creams and then I put them all together in beautiful flute glasses, to resemble the cylinder shape of LIFESAVER packaging.

STEP ONE:  CHERRY CREAM (I used the Coconut Cream Recipe pg. 5, I omitted coconut water, and agave powder.  My first added ingredient was cherries).

Summer Party Parfait Contest 039In this recipe I chose to take out the coconut water and use cherries instead.  I did this so the consistency wouldn’t be too runny and the brilliant dark pink color would be more prominent.  I also omitted the agave powder, this decision was made because I prefer to keep agave at bay when I have the chance.  For over a year, I have been using agave in most recipes, so I chose to omit it because I could.  I got all my ingredients together and got to work.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 020I was careful to pit every single cherry so I wouldn’t lose any of my teeth while enjoying my summery treat.  A cherry pitter would have come in real handy.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 102Note*When choosing cherries to use, pick the darkest possible to get a darker color of cream.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 100The inside of the cherries were very dark, this allowed the cream to be darker than it would have been if the insides were lighter.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 067One of the easiest ways to gather meat out of a coconut is to open it with a cleaver and use a spoon and scrape the inside.  I always run water over the meat and pick off pieces of husk that could still be on the meat.

*After all ingredients are cut and measured place them all in blender until creamy.  Pour into a bowl and place in refrigerator until ready to form the LIFESAVER Parfait.

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STEP TWO:  LEMON CREAM(pg.8)

Summer Party Parfait Contest 025After gathering all of my ingredients and looking over the recipe again and again, I decided that would not be using the Irish moss.  I was concerned that because of the coconut oil it may become too stiff to work with.  This was the first time I made the recipe.  I used less lemon juice and less maple syrup because I omitted the Irish moss.  First I collected the zest from the lemons.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 082Then I juiced several lemons.  My mouth started to water, I love the taste of fresh lemons.  They are so healing and cleansing.  I love how you can use God’s food for more than just food.  Lemons can be used for cleaning your body as well as your home.

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With my husband’s help we opened up 6 Thai coconuts.  They are always so fun to open.  It’s like Christmas, the outside looks so pretty and you have to wait to see what is inside.  Sometimes you will get pink water and slimy meat, but most of the time the coconuts that I buy have thick white meat and clear liquid from this King of Fruits.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 062You can see that this coconut was perfect!

Summer Party Parfait Contest 060All ingredients were blended and put into a bowl and stored in the refrigerator until ready.

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THIRD STEP: LIME CREAM (pg. 7)
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I gathered all my ingredients and got started. I realized that this recipe was perfect, I didn’t need to add anything to it, or take away from it. First I zested the limes.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 041Making designs in the food always makes me feel like an artist.  The zester is just a fun tool to have in your raw food kitchen.  Although zest can also be made using a peeler and just chop the “zest” up.  I use that method occasionally if the zest needs to be blended anyway.  The Vita-Mix takes care of those bigger pieces.  But I like to have fun in the kitchen.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 042The zest is a bit long if I were adding it to a recipe that doesn’t involve blending.  I like to chop it up so the lucky eaters don’t have long strands of zest in their teeth.  I juice the limes/lemons after I zest them, because it is difficult to hold the fruit and zest it if the juice is gone.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 043A citrus juicer is an appliance I use often, it cuts preparation time down.  If you don’t have one, a hand held juicer works just fine, but I always strain the juice to make sure there are no seeds.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 045Only a few ingredient go into this recipe, so this was quick to make.  I cut the avocados and then added all ingredients to the Vita-Mix.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 046The beauty makes me feel like I am in the Garden Of Eden.  I am always in “awe” viewing God’s power in the natural.

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STEP FOUR:  ORANGE CREAM (I used Pineapple Mango Pudding pg. 5, I used mango to make it orange and I omitted the pineapple.  My second added ingredient was Orange Blossom Water to arouse the taste buds into believing it is an Orange LIFESAVER)

Summer Party Parfait Contest 027After gathering the ingredients I read through the recipe again to make sure I had everything I needed, after all I was adding an ingredient that wasn’t in the recipe.  My second added ingredient was Orange Blossom Water.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 037This is light flavor to use when you want to have a bit of orange essence in your food.  I used it several times for other recipes this last year.  This flavoring is not as potent as orange extract.   Some people are not familiar with cutting a mango.  I hold it up right like an egg and cut the largest sides as close to the seed as possible.  Then I cut the thinner sides.  I love to cut cubes out of the large sides.  This is especially fun for children when you fan out the mangoes.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 056After cutting up the mangoes, I chopped them finely and cut the Thai coconut and strained it.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 060All ingredients were blended to make a lovely Orange LIFESAVER flavored cream.

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STEP FIVE:  Pineapple Cream (I used the Pineapple Mango Pudding pg. 5 but omitted the mango)

Summer Party Parfait Contest 013After seeing how light the Lemon Cream was and the how dark the Orange Cream was, I decided to omit the mangoes, so the LIFESAVER Parfait colors would be some what distinguishable.  I peeled and cut the pineapple.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 001First I chopped off the top and bottom of the pineapple.  Then I cut the outside off in about 5 quick slices.  It’s important to have a sharp knife to do this so you will not get cut.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 003I then cut around the inner part of the pineapple called the “core”.  The core has some of the highest phytochemicals of any fruit.  Pineapple is also very high in Vitamin C, and almost 100% of the recommended RDA of Vitamin C is in only 2 slices.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 009I usually save the core and I eat it after I am finished with my recipes. I chopped up the pineapple to measure the amount used.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 010I prepared all the ingredients from Heather’s recipes and then threw all ingredients in the Vita-Mix and made this marvelous Pineapple Cream.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 094Now, all the creams are ready to be used in the LIFESAVER flute glasses.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 108You can see the variances of color in this next photo.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 107STEP SIX:  Assembly of the LIFESAVER Parfaits
After making the 5 flavors of the creams, it was time to get busy. I wanted to just sit down and eat a bite of all the creams, they all smelled so delicious and honestly making my mouth water.   I was on a roll though, I wanted to start right away.  Earlier in the week I asked my Mom to join in on my fun during this contest. I asked her to paint my glasses with the word LIFESAVERS on them. She loves to paint as much as I love to make Raw Food. I am blessed to have her, she always is so supportive of everything I do.   I think she did a beautiful job.
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Now for the fun part, to assemble these marvelous little treats. I used a piping bag to fit down into these long slender glasses. At first it was a real challenge to fit the bag down into the slender glasses. Glad I had my hubby by my side to cheer me on. It takes a steady hand, patience, and the passion to make these.
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I started with the Orange, and went in sequential order the whole way. Next was Lemon, Lime, Pineapple and Cherry. I wanted to make these little LIFESAVERS as similar to the candy. I read that in each packet of LIFESAVERS there are 14 little candies, so I layered the creams 14 times. I ended with Pineapple on top.
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The preparation took so much longer than I anticipated but there really is no other place I would rather be than in my kitchen with my best friend and lover, Jason:). Well, there may be one place I like better and that is my favorite spot on the lake, between my 3 trees.
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I grew up on the lake here in Inverness, Florida. I adore the water and how it makes me feel. I found this spot about a year ago. I have lived in this town for so long that I have seen almost every part of it, but being here between these trees in the morning is healing and energizing to me. There is a bike trail right next to this park and I often ride a bike or run/walk to this spot early in the morning.  If I come early enough I see the sunrise and many of the animals that live here.  If I am having a bad day, I come here. I meditate, pray, read, dance, and play here. There is something about being in the middle of these 3 trees, I feel like Nature gives an embracing hug.
When I saw that I had to take the picture in my favorite spot in Nature for this contest, I was even more excited. This spot is the first place I thought of. I pictured it all and it came to fruition this morning. I shared this experience with my Husband, and my two boys (13, and 8). They were all helping set it up and the boys couldn’t wait to try the Parfaits. This time was so precious with my family together, enjoying this event. I know it is something they will remember. One thing if for certain, if you ask my boys, “what is your Mom’s passion?”, they would say, “Making Raw Food”.

Summer Party Parfait Contest 170Summer Party Parfait Contest 169Summer Party Parfait Contest 182Summer Party Parfait Contest 185Well, thank you to Heather Pace for this fun project and thanks to my family:)  The boys loved the recipes.  They said it tastes like Rainbow Sherbet.  The top favorite flavors were Cherry and Lemon.

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“Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes – every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man.”~Orison Swett Marden

Posted 14 years, 4 months ago at 8:59 am.

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Fermented Sauerkraut

Makes 1 Quart

1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded
1 T caraway seeds (I used sesame seeds)
1 T sea salt
4 T whey (if not available, use an additional 1 T sea salt)
2 cups shredded carrots

In a bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, sea salt and whey*. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but it improves with age.
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Recipe modified by Theresa Perman from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Posted 15 years, 2 months ago at 9:42 pm.

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Raw Spirit Festival – Maryland/Washington D.C.

Destiny, D’Adjoa and I left on a Friday morning on our way to Raw Spirit. It was a chaotic morning! Jason had issues at the bank, and D’ was late (sorry D’, it did work out because Jason had to sign papers so if she would’ve arrived early he wouldn’t have been able to go to the bank). Everything was in Divine Order, we arrived to get on the airplane without a problem, the flight was perfect. The pilot was in a rush to leave Tampa because of a thunderstorm rolling in. It was the fastest takeoff I have ever had. The flight was bumpy, but perfect. We helped D’ make her marvelous Raw Spirit Bookmarks. Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 002 (Small)Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 003 (Small)
We arrived in Maryland early. Received our luggage and hopped on a bus to the car rental garage, where we rented a Chrysler 300, boy was D’Adjoa excited!!
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I had to get a photo of the forest! The trees are different from Florida.
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We went to the hotel, we were all ready to get something to eat. This trip to the hotel was one of the best times there in Maryland. D’Adjoa was the driver and we had her Navigation System, well, the funniest thing kept happening to us. We kept missing what we thought was the exit. So we drove around the area several times, we got on the freeway then turned around, missed the exit, then got back on the freeway. I was laughing the whole time. Destiny was in the back seat ready to get out and walk. I really wasn’t paying attention to the directions, but after the 3rd time missing the hotel, I figured I should help! Oh my gosh, talk about belly laugh. Those ladies are so fun! We finally found the hotel, but the N.S. was wrong. The address was on the other side of the street.
We went out to eat that night at Ruby Tuesdays. We ran into 2 friends from Gainesville, Jackie and Ruth, they told us a few things about Raw Spirit and let us look at the schedule. We chatted with them for a while then headed back to the hotel for some R and R.
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Yes we met the guy in this photo. He wanted to desperately be in this photo.
The next morning we woke up early and set off for our day at Raw Spirit Day #1
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The grounds were beautiful! We met up with the Gainesville pot luck friends, it was so fantastic to be with them in new surroundings!
Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 045 (Small)Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 046 (Small)Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 047 (Small)The first day we walked around to all the tents and vendors that were set up. We tried flax chips, fermented salad dressings, d’ and Destiny got some coconuts from the Florida keys. There were so many of them. They were brought in by the Mojo Juice Health Club with founder Khepra Anu. The coconuts were perfect for this hot muggy day. I thought Florida was muggy and hot, but the weather there in Maryland was actually pretty uncomfortable, but the stimulation of everything else really kept my mind from thinking about it. I had an appropriate amount of water, so I felt good.
These okra were humongous! We met a man that bought some okra, I had to get a photo! Destiny took advantage of this photo opportunity. We had so much fun just looking around. The fermented salad dressings were pretty tasty, but I didn’t buy any. I am still stuck on eating olive oil and lemon juice and tahini with garlic.
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Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 038 (Small)Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 039 (Small)D’Adjoa told me about a restaurant in New York called Quintessance. We were so fortunate to eat their food and meet the owners and employees of this amazing raw restaurant. I had a bagel with cream cheese. This bread was seriously the most amazing raw bread I have ever had in my life. The consistency was absolutely just like bread. It tasted like sourdough bread. Oh I wish I could have some now. On this bagel there was a slice of tomato, cream cheese (made from cashews) and sweet crispy onions. The best raw breakfast I have ever had, besides a green smoothie! I wanted to eat 2 of them. Absolutely delish! I met the chef and co-owner Dan. He taught us alot and spent alot of time talking about the restaurant and cleansing. I love to hear the stories about how people got started on raw food. He used David Jubb’s cleansing and it was after that they he started feeling the best ever! Raw Chef Dan has a website too. Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 042 (Small)
We met an employee of Quintessance and she was so sweet. She even knew a chef that I have been wanting to meet, Peter Cervoni, she called him on the phone. It was so unexpected, but I chatted with him for a while. I would love to take a class from him sometime. Raw Spirit 2009 (Maryland) 041 (Small)
Our first day of raw spirit was so much fun, we hoola hooped to music. We met Lynda Carter and had some apple cake, which was very delicious. She was full of love and positive energy, she was calm but had a great energy that made me want to listen to her story. D’ had heard of her before but I never had. I am grateful that I did meet her. She is another person who is no longer on insulin and has overall better health after introducing rawfood. We listened to Philip McClusky and Markus Rothcranz. Philip McClusky really had an impact on some of my friends. Theresa could really relate to his story, he overcame obesity through a raw food diet. Markus Rothcranz was the heartthrob. Most of the women couldn’t believe how gorgeous and knowledgeable and heartfelt he was. I enjoyed both seminars.
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After these seminars we went back to the hotel to sleep for the dancing and music at night time. We slept too long to see the lit up hoola hoops and music. It started pooring out so we ran for cover and ended up meeting Jenna Norwood. We missed her seminar and showing of her movie, but we did meet her.
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After meeting Jenna, it started raining really hard so we stayed under cover and listened to a man named Michael Collins. He really made the most impact on me. He was fascinating to listen to because of his genuine personality. He was not there to sell anything, just a testimony of triumph over diabetes. He didn’t even give a website to reach him at, unfortunately. He really impacted me so much that night. He told of his story about his eyesight going bad, surgeries, and coming into the light, through love and raw food. He spoke of a Hawaiian phrase called Ho Apana Apana (Ho Apana Apana). He expressed that giving love is fundamental in healing. He does meditate and outreaches. He really made me think about myself and that is what I wanted on this trip. I feel very blessed to have listened to this man speak. He was my favorite the whole weekend! What a heartfelt, touching story! I did take much from this weekend. I learned to forgive myself, I am not perfect, to say I love you to the mirror, so I can feel comfortable with me (this was an idea from Philip McCluskey, and I also learned that people come into our lives to help us understand how they feel and how we can help other people by our experiences. This is not a new concept to me, but I reached a different level of understanding on this trip.
Day #2

Our last day at Raw Spirit went too fast. We went to hear Daniel Vitalis speak, but he didn’t show up. We were disappointed but while D’ was at her Sacred Exercise, Destiny and I met up with our Gainesville friends and had lunch at Quintessance again. We met Phillip McCluskey, too, before Destiny and I decided to go for a walk. The walk was nothing short of enlightening and healing for both of us. I know I had been troubled with many things in my life and having her there by my side in this natural healing forest, I came out a different person. This trip brought me to a new level of awareness. I am now a stronger, centered and willing to stay on this path of raw food, emotional healing and spiritual discovery. The forest was shaded and we came upon a river and we stood beside it and talked for what seemed like 5 minutes, but it was probably an hour. We both discussed ideas of life and troubles. We became closer than we were before we went on this trip. I would’ve stayed there longer but we couldn’t because we had to catch a flight home.
We met D’ and we left, but not without getting a picture of all of us. It was so neat, nobody better could have come to take our photo than the Rawtographer, I couldn’t believe it. Him and his lady friend were the only ones in sight to take the photo of us. We didn’t even know it until his friend said, “Do you want the Rawtographer to take it?” I just started laughing. The picture turned out beautiful. This picture reminds me of how I felt. I was glowing and refreshed from this journey. Thank you Rawtographer and your beautiful friend Vanessa Barg, creator of Gnosis Chocolate. What a pleasure!
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Thank you D’Adjoa and Destiny! I love you both! We will build many more memories!

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Posted 15 years, 2 months ago at 3:55 pm.

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Leg Cramps on My Low Sugar High Raw Lifestyle

September 19, 2009

I am up at 6 am. I have been suffering from Leg Cramps, since 3 am. I fell asleep on my couch around 10 pm, which I often do. I woke up a few hours later and felt that I had been kicked in my right calf causing it to cramp. I was so exhausted from my studying and working and my “normal” routines of life that I ignored it and went to bed. My mouth was also extremely dry. I didn’t bother getting water either until 3:30am when I finally decided I needed to get up and get water. I tried to stretch and bam they hit. I know how leg cramps work, I’ve had them many times. When I was pregnant I got them on many nights, also it seems EVERY SINGLE TIME I STOP EATING BANANAS! So I did the normal routine, walk around my room, put my hands on the wall and tried to stretch my calf but when I did that cramps started in my foot. I tried to walk, or hobble and made it to the kitchen to get water. In the back of my mind, I really just wanted to reach for a whole tree of bananas and just start eating them up! I drank about 32 ounces of water and tried to lay down again to bed. I managed to get comfortable by resting my feet against blankets so my feet wouldn’t point (that helps sometimes) and I just prayed. I drifted off to sleep for about 40 minutes and they started again. I woke up again with cramps that were worse than the first time. I didn’t want to wake Jason, he normally rubs my legs if I have cramps. He has been so exhausted that I didn’t want to disturb him. But he must have heard me, because he asked me if I had leg cramps again. Yep, I said. I was very frustrated because I feel so good eating this way, but I must be missing something. I don’t think it’s withdrawals from cereal, bananas, or high sugar desserts. Humans were not meant to eat that stuff, maybe bananas, but not the high sugar hybridized fruit we eat today. They are high in sugar, but oh so yummy. Well, I got some more water and he rubbed my legs so I fell asleep, but again I woke up at 6 am. I was tired and frustrated so I decided to get on the internet and search around. I googled “leg cramps on a low sugar diet”.
No surprise to me, I found many blogs and complaints about low sugar diets and leg cramps. Many people say that leg cramps may be caused from magnesium deficiency, dehydration, potassium deficiency, and over working your legs from exercise. The more I searched the more my heart tells me it is potassium. Humans need 4.7 grams of potassium a day (that is 4700/day milligrams). That is more than we need of magnesium (420 milligrams/day for males and 320 milligrams/day). When I started eating low carb/low sugar I decided to look up foods that are high in potassium, I found most of them to be fruit and meat. Fruit is something I am trying to ignore for now, especially bananas, I do have an addiction. I like to refrain from eating meat. I don’t want to consume meat for more than one reason. I found some great websites that display foods that are high potassium (which I need) and low potassium foods (for people that are needing a low potassium diet for medical reasons for example medications they are taking).
http://www.essortment.com/all/potassiumfoodh_rkyn.htm
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm
After viewing these sights I decided to figure out how much potassium was in the regular vegetables I eat. Tomatoes seemed to be an excellent source of potassium. I loved this website about calories and all nutritional information called Calorie Count. I am very passionate about what is actually in the food, hence my decision to do dietetics! The website is AWESOME! You type in what food you want and you can see what is in it according to the RDA. I know RDA isn’t GOD, but I do believe there is validity in it. After viewing the internet I am going to keep in mind that I do need more potassium. There are so many options when it comes to potassium choices that are relatively low in sugar that will not cause a blood sugar spike.
1 raw cup each:
Tomatoes 400 mg
Kale 299 mg
Broccoli 278 mg
Spinach 167 mg
Sprouted Lentils 248 mg
Sprounted Mung beans 155 mg
These are just a few of my staples.
I am hoping to improve on my low sugar diet. I love my raw journey that I’m on. I really believe that if I keep listening to my body it will guide me to where I need to be. I am going to get a mineral test done soon. If the leg cramps don’t go away it may be a mineral difficiency, but I only started doing this 7 days ago and I’m already feeling the effects from it. Weight loss, better energy (happier thoughts, stamina and positive well being) and stable blood sugar. The leg cramps are the only real downer. I am going to see how it goes with eating more potassium rich foods and increase my water intake.

“Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.”

** DISCLAIMER** I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. EVERYTHING I SAY ON THIS SITE IS FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND I DO NOT CLAIM TO HEAL ANYONE OR SAY THAT I CAN. THE NUTRITION CONTENT PROVIDED ON THIS SITE IS NOT INTENDED TO SUBSTITUTE MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND SEEKING APPROVAL FROM A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE YOUR DIET AND LIFESTYLE.

Posted 15 years, 2 months ago at 7:41 am.

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Green Smoothies and Bar-b-que Crisps sandwiches

Jason and I are staying faithful to our choice to do green smoothies everyday. We started our morning off together with a green smoothie. Mine was one banana, 6 cups of romaine and 5 strawberries. He had 2 apples, 6 cups of romaine lettuce and one banana. I am so fortunate to have my husband do this with me. It makes it so easy and we draw closer to one another through raw food. He is very supportive of it and wants to see the changes in himself.
I ate some bar-b-que crisps with squash and tomatoes. Absolutely hit the spot for lunch. I followed those by a green smoothie later on. Different recipe. It had kale, blueberries, peaches and banana. I crave greens. I love them. I can’t believe how many cups of greens I am consuming. I guess my body needs them.
I love eating raw food. I feel alive and most of all peaceful and creative. I need to eat healthy so I can accomplish all the things I want to do. Thank you my lovely Creator for allowing me the opportunities you do and finding the way to optimum health so I can do your will on EARTH. I am going to make more crisps. Sleep well my friends:)

Posted 15 years, 4 months ago at 6:26 pm.

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Day #8 Baked Macaroni and Cheese everyday raw pg. 98

On the way to church today I let the kids thumb through my two books. I told them to pick out anything they would agree to eat tonight. I wanted to have an all raw family dinner. I want my boys to be included in this project as well. I know it’s going to work. It’s been so exciting, they are actually going into the dehydrator on their own and eating the granola, blueberry pancakes and bar-b-que crisps. They were actually fighting over the last 2 bar-b-que crisps. I don’t want them fighting but it’s great to see they like them that much. It caused Christian to make the crisps again. He made the almonds, oats, and flax into flour. He mixed all of the ingredients for the crackers. Now we will do the sauce next.
The boys both picked out baked macaroni and cheese. I am so grateful that I had all of the ingredients that I needed to make this wonderful and filling meal. This is what I call comfort food.
The recipe calls for:
cashews, lemon juice, water, olive oil, sea salt, nutritional yeast flakes, shallot, chili powder, cayenne and turmeric. The noodles are yellow squash.
The dressing was very easy to make. I put all ingredients into the vita mix and 10 seconds later I had a divine cheese. Jason helped me with the noodles. We were going to use the saladacco but we decided to use the shredder of the food processor. We used about 10 cups of yellow squash and poured the cheese on top. I mixed it all together and it had a gooey consistency much like Velveeta Macaroni and Cheese. The kind where you squeeze the fake cheese out of the silver bag. It was tasty when it was fresh, but after 1 1/2 hours in the dehydrator the flavors mingled well and it tasted more comforting for my children. I will make this meal again. Next time I will make a raw ketchup for Sabby. He loves his mac-n-cheese with ketchup. I mentioned it at dinner and he wanted me to make it then or let him use Annie’s Ketchup. I told him no we have to stick with our goal of at least 3 raw meals a week:) So if any of you know a great no fail kid recipe for raw ketchup send it my way:)
We are all picking out what we want this week. I will have to do my shopping trip tomorrow. I am excited. I am doing week 2! This is truly an amazing experience for myself and my family. I know we will all learn so much from it.

Posted 15 years, 4 months ago at 6:05 pm.

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Green Smoothie Challenge 8-2-09 Combinations for Green Smoothies

I received an email from my friend who got this info from Victoria Boutenko website.
GREEN SMOOTHIE MUST HAVE INFORMATION:
from Victoria Boutenko – RawFoodFamily Website

The KALE Family: Any variety of Kale or Dandelion Greens, Plus Apple or Mango or Pear, and Banana(berries or kiwi)

The SPINACH Family: Spinach, Plus Apple or Peach or Mango or Kiwi, and Banana & a squeeze of lemon(berries or cherries or figs)

The COLLARD Family: Collards, Plus Blueberries or Peaches or Cranberries, Peaches or Pear, and Banana.

The ORANGE Family: Arugula or Celery or Swiss Chard, plus Orange or Mango, and Banana(Strawberries, Peaches or Pineapple)

The SPROUT Family: Romaine or Clover Sprouts, plus Apple or Pear, and Strawverries or Kiwi, and Banana

The HERB Family: Parsley or Cilantro, apple or Mango, Banana(Strawberries, Pineapple)

Posted 15 years, 4 months ago at 5:31 am.

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Green Smoothie Challenge and Going Raw 8-1-09

My plan is to drink at least a quart of Green Smoothie a day for the next 30 days. I was so inspired by Theresa’s story that I decided that I would embark another endeavor. There really is absolutely no reason to continue eating cooked food. I am making Matthew Kenney’s recipes and I work where there is FRESH PRODUCE. I believe that I will have the support with Jason, Sarah and D’ to be there if I get weak:(. I felt so fantastic yesterday. I felt full but light. I drank 3 quarts my first day, July 31. I am sure my body was craving it. I felt clear in my head too. I miss eating mostly raw. I lost my way for a little. It just takes some enthusiastic energy to get me on the path again. I figure my 30 days will be ending when I go to Raw Spirit Festival. I am sure the Raw Spirit will keep me charged for at least another 30 days.I will keep you posted on my successes with Green Smoothies. I am going to purchase the Boutenko’s new book.
Cheers! I am off to drink my greens for my breakfast.

Posted 15 years, 4 months ago at 6:05 am.

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Trevor Hall concert

Went to see Trevor Hall in Orlando, Fl. We arrived early and went to get our tickets but the doors weren’t even open yet. We all decided to walk around downtown, Orlando to get some yummy food. We stopped at the Pita Pit. They offered vegetarian food for the kids and other options for the meat eaters:) It’s very similar to Subway. Jason tried Falafel for the first time. I still want to make it raw for him. As the kids were eating I thought I saw Trevor Hall walking in the street. Sure enough it was. He was across the street and I definitely didn’t want to go chase him down. 10 minutes later he walked past the Pita Pit. So of course I had to go out and get some photos.
We got some photos and I could tell he was wanting to leave. He said he was looking for something good to eat. I was so upset:( I wanted to make him Raw Yummies. I should’ve listened to my inner being, I knew I wanted to bring it for a reason but I ignored the thought of it. I’ve been so busy and like I said in my other blog I really haven’t been feeling well. Next time, I WILL BRING HIM SOME YUMMY RAW TREATS:)
So we told him we would be there at the concert. He remembered us from all the other concerts and he remembered us giving him Tulsi Mala Beads.
The concert was great!! It felt like he was performing for the small crowd, he was very personable. He was talking to the audience asking what we wanted to hear next. He is humble performer. Chris Steele was amazing on the drums as always:) I can’t wait to see them again.
Jacob Jeffries Band was the opening act. Usually I am not very excited about the opening band but they were very impressive. I will be seeing them again.

Posted 15 years, 4 months ago at 7:09 pm.

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